Out-of-towner's Taupō spree causes surge in vehicle crime

There was a spate of vehicle break-ins around Taupō in the first weekend of the school holidays. Photo / File

Tēnā koutou katoa. We had a busy start to the school holidays, with some disorder seen in town on the first weekend following the closure of bars on Sunday morning.

We also had a big spike in vehicle crime the same weekend when a large number of vehicles were interfered with around Taupō and the AC Baths. We've identified who that person was - it was an out-of-towner on a crime spree through the North Island. They have since been apprehended out of town and we've seen a remarkable drop in our vehicle crime as a result.

However, as always you can avoid becoming a victim of car break-ins by removing all items from the inside of your vehicle because if people see something desirable inside you're giving them an opportunity to break in and get it.

From a local perspective it is pleasing to see that there are a number of visitors to Taupō over the school holidays. As a town we have a lot to offer and it's no surprise people chose to holiday here. As always during these busy periods, our road policing staff will be having a strong presence on the roads in our area. We encourage travellers to be patient and travel safely. Better to arrive five minutes late than not at all. Take care at those intersections and be mindful of your speed. These are frequent causes of crashes and directly affect the outcome.

On the topic of road policing, we have had a recent surge in offending in terms of burnouts and boy-racer type activity. The unfortunate outcome of this has been some substantial damage done to public reserves and roadside areas, resulting in significant cost to repair and rectify it. Not only does this not look good for our town, these drivers are putting themselves and others at risk.

Sergeant Vanessa Meharry. Photo / File

This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and people doing this can expect to go to court. Any vehicle involved in a sustained loss of traction can immediately be impounded for 28 days. In addition, the driver will lose their licence for six months and be fined up to $4500 if convicted.

We will be increasing our patrols in specific locations to respond to this offending and we also need members of the public to pass on any information they have. Parents, if your young person comes home with the car covered in mud and grass, please let us know and we will come around and chat to them. We'd much rather have a talk based around this sort of behaviour rather than catching them in the act and them losing their licence.

Senrior Sergeant Fane Troy. Photo / File

Matthew Hunt's funeral was on Thursday last week and several staff from Taupō travelled to Auckland to attend, as they had a personal connection to the officers involved. Our thoughts are with them and with Matt's family.

Keep an eye out for our youth services staff, who will be out and about at local attractions, especially the skate rink and winter festival activities, throughout the school holidays. They are keen to chat so feel free to say hello!

As always if it is happening now, call us on 111, alternatively, for non-urgent or historic matters our 105 line is available 24/7. Keep safe.

Ngā mihi, Vanessa and Fane.